I am extremely excited that the University of Washington football team won the Pac 12 championship mainly because I played there. When I was recruited to the University of Washington that was the goal we talked about from when I was recruited, while I played and even every year after I left. We won the conference championship two years before I got there, tied for second place the year before and was ranked number nine in the country and first in the conference heading into my first season. We did not achieve our goal while I was there and it was actually start of the decline of the program for a long time. So how did we perform so poorly and fall short of expectations and how did this team achieve this goal? Let me try my best to explain.
I believe the most critical component of our failures during those years and the success we are having now is the head coach. During my time at UW I had three different head coaches. Coach Petersen has been a proven winner at Boise State and in my meetings with Coach Petersen I can attest that he is a great person that actually cares about his players. He pays attention to the details and always is trying to improve himself and his staff. There is no question in my mind that if we had Coach Petersen leading the program since I came to the University of Washington, we would have had many more conference and national titles.
Coach Petersen has been here for three years, why did it not happen faster? His defense was much more talented his first year than any other time? The hardest thing to do when you inherit and team or company is to change the culture that is already in place. Not only is his coaching style different from the previous coaching staff but the way he runs the program in every little detail is different. How the players are treated, what he expected out of them, the focus on the small things that they didn’t need to do prior was a huge shift for everyone. I believe also that because he came from Boise State, some players probably didn’t value what he did there. If Coach Petersen came here from Alabama or Ohio State after winning a couple national championships, I believe the buy in would have happened a lot faster than it did.
Along with the new approach is his amazing strength and conditioning staff headed up by coach Tim Socha. I never really knew how important this role was until I got hurt in college and I never regained my level of performance prior to my injury. The strength and conditioning program sets the foundation for the players athletically. They bring the most out of their speed, agility and conditioning in order for each player to perform to his greatest capabilities and lowering the risk of injury. From all the strength and conditioning coaches that I have met while I played and when I get to go to conferences all over the country, Coach Socha is the best. Part of the reason why I think he is so successful is because he played the game, is open minded in researching and trying new things and is an extension of Coach Petersen in the weight room. With the quality of work being done in the weight room along with the coaching staff on the field, it just makes their program so much better.
Now we are conference champions I am excited to see if we can bring home the national championship. It will be difficult but with this coaching staff, on the field and in the weight room, along with all of our players buying in, I believe we have the best chance of beating the defending national champion Alabama. No one gives us a shot but we will see in a couple of weeks.
Go Dawgs!
Donny Mateaki
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